Halloween

Halloween has come and gone, thank goodness. It was wonderful to see the excitement in my children's eyes, but it was a little overwhelming also. Gavin and Quinten couldn't wait to put these costumes on. They started asking this morning and went all day!

I love Halloween! I like it for the make-up and the costumes and the big hair. Oh wait, I like those things everyday!! What was I thinking? Maybe not the costumes, but everything else. I didn't let me family down today either. I wore the brightest makeup I could get my hands on. Yeah!!

David had to work. Lucky him. I don't think he has worked in the Tower District on Halloween. It is quite a sight and David is not someone who would enjoy that type of thing. I can't wait to hear about the freaky things that happen on this happy evening.

I hope everyone had a great night, a safe night and most of all a productive night. May we all enjoy the sugar highs that our children will be experiencing the next couple days.

terrible two's?

David and I had to get the boys some cold medicine and decided to go to Wal-Mart. No, this isn't my favorite place, although I have talked about it a lot in my blogs. In fact, I hate Wal-Mart, but the prices are so good you have to go occasionally just for the heck of it.
So we go to Wal-Mart and David is nice enough to let the boys take their piggie bank money with them in case they find a toy they can't live without. If you have seen our playroom, you would know that this is not the case. David is obviously making up for the toys he didn't have as a child. It is quite obnoxious actually.
Anyway, I head to the candy isle because I have a food problem and the boys go to the toy isle. I grab candy to send with David to the police deparment for the "under weight police officers". I take my time because I know good and well that it's gonna be ugly when I go over to the children. Sure enough, I can hear Gavin's booming voice over all the commotion. He is whining about ever toy he sees. He wants a new bike helmut with Transformers, he wants Iron Man, Incredible Hulk, and Bumble Bee. Quinten isn't whining. He is just watching what Gavin is doing, probably so he can do the whining next time. I was so irritated that I had to leave the area. I told David that we needed to leave right now before the Momma looses it. Believe me, when it gets to a certain point, watch out. The law enforcer comes out and the people in the front of the store would be able to hear me yelling. I try not to to do this, so I don't scare my neighbors or people that are unlucky enough to be standing next to me at the time. Well, I was almost at that point. I blame David for some of it, most of it actually. He lets the boys go to the toy isle ever time and "look". That's nice for his one day that he goes shopping with them. What about the rest of the time when I go by myself and they don't get anything? Yeah, then I have to deal with it. Don't get me started I can feel my blood pressure rising as I talk about it.
So my point to this story is this, why is my five year old still whining? When does this ritual stop? It is one of the worst things that has ever happened to me and the best birth control at the same time! I can't handle it, seriously. I don't know what else to say because if I say too much, someone may report me to CPS. Just kidding, kinda.....

What time is it?

My children have both been fighting some kind of sickness, involving cough and boogers. I am talking thick, yellow boogers. Yes, it has been nasty. So last night Quinten came to bed with us, which isn't a new thing, he comes to bed with me every night. Last night though, he snored and tossed and turned all night because he didn't feel good. Gavin got up at night and changed out of his long pajama's and into a t-shirt.
This morning, Gavin comes in letting me know that it's "Morning time" and talking about the Toy-R-Us add that he had snagged out the Sunday paper. I looked over and saw it was 7:36, which is about the time we get up every morning. I told him I would be up in a minute. Quinten streached and he was outta there. He yelled after Gavin as they ran to the play room.
I rolled over and tried to snuggle with my stinky husband for a minute before getting up. Gavin rushed back into the room and told me all the things he wanted for Christmas. Can I please get through Thanksgiving before thinking of all the fun Christmas has in store.
I got up and became a walking vegetable. I made pancakes an coffee and sat at the table with the worlds worst cramps. Can I just let you all that I never had cramps before my children, but now, for sure, cramps every month-pain in the butt.
So I came over, checked the email, paid some bills and so forth. I ask Gavin what he wanted for snack. He replies, "peanut butter and honey". I made it for him and sat down with a banana. I look at the time and it clicks. What day is it? Wednesday!! He has to be in school at 11:00, that is in exactly 10 minutes. His normal time is 11:45, but Wednesday's are early. We have to put on clothes, brush teeth and do hair. I have never got us dresses and ready so quick. Gavin cried the entire time, when I stripped his clothes off, ran a wet brush through his hair and wiped lotion over his dry little legs.
I sped to school and got there just in time. He walked in stunned, like he had just been tossed into a tornado. Poor little guy. He is not the kinda kid you can rush-he is my little snail. He will hopefully have a good afternoon at school. Hope I don't forget t pick him up at 1:45.

Just minor details

It has been awhile since I last posted something and although nothing exciting has happened, I am sure I can talk about something. I can always talk about something.
First off, let me confess something. I bought pair of shoes today. They are not just a pair of shoes. They are a pink/black/red-ish color, platform (duh), with an open toe. They were surprising-ly comfortable for being high, but since the front has a platform it tricks the eye to think that you are standing on a 4" heel, when it's really only 2"-thank God. Anyway, that's not the confession portion. The fact that they were on clearance was good, but there was no additional off. That means they were still almost $60. I had a gift certificate that I received from my credit card, from the points earned, and used that. The total was only, like, $35, which is the cost of what I normally pay for the bargain shoes I have become acustom to. So now I feel better. Although I don't know exactly who I am confessing to, I feel better knowing it is no longer a secret. From my husband, yes, but to all of you out in bloggerland, no.
And, the other day when I was at Marshalls, even though I was only supposed to go to get something (that I guess wasn't important because I don't remember)at another store, I bought a dress. It was marked down from originally $120 to $15. Can't say that I feel too guilty about that purchase though because that's a good deal! It is a metallic gray/silver. It has an empire waist, which does a lot for a waistline like mine and maximizes the chest-not that I need any help there. Anyway, it's kinda casual because it has big pockets in the front, but it could also be dressed up with, what else, SHOES!! What were you expecting-it all ties into the shoes. The straps are about and inch wide, but I think I will wear a jacket overtop because I recently saw a picture of my arms and they are freakishly big. We want to cover those suckers up. When your arms are bigger then your husbands, or a third or the male population, you probably don'y want to flant that. Anyway, I didn't show that purchase off to the other half, just put it in the closet. He wil find it soon enough.
I guess this blog turned out to be a catholic confessional in an awkward, un-religious type way. So I feel better and maybe some of you others who have this same problem, feel like you are not alone. Hey, I have fun and enjoy shopping and hope others can be so lucky and patient to find deals like me!

The birthday

Gavin was lucky enough to have his 5th birthday party at the zoo this year. When I came up with the idea I wasn't thinking that it would be so nerve racking. There were 12 kids total which I think is a lot. Mind you, not all of them were walking around, but it was high energy and loud. Gavin met his friends at the front gate and was really happy to see everyone. He was hugging them as they came and greeting them like a good little host. All I could think about was the headache I was gonna have at the end of all this.
It was productive trip. We saw the elephants, the black panther, we fed the giraffes and walked through the reptile house. The best part? We didn't loose any kids. We lost some control during the petting zoo portion, but no big deal.
We came back to the house, had cake, did a little activity, played and went home. Gavin loved his day. He can't wait until next year so he can do it all again.

Bikers

I am having a kinda crappy day (see yesterdays blog), but that doesn't change the fact that it is Gavin's 5th birthday today. So I run to the store because he requested steak and tater tots for dinner.
As I was leaving the store, I am coming up on the stop before entering into traffic. I am planning to turn northbound Perrin from the westbound parking lot. Of course when you are planning to turn northbound, you are checking southbound traffic. So I am doing that. Then I hear a snotty, "Hello". I look northbound and there is a female biker on the sidewalk, about to travel in front of me. I wanted to yell at her for riding on the wrong side of the street and for riding on the sidewalk. It is her fault for doing these simple infractions. But instead, I decided it was nicer to be friendly and back up alittle.
Now everyone reading this who doesn't know, all bicyclists need to follow the rules of the road just like a vehicle. That means stopping at stop signs, riding the same way as traffic and so on and so forth. If you don't follow the rules of the road you are setting yourself up or a ticket. Depending where you live, you will get one too. That means if you cause an accident because you aren't following the rules of the road, you could be held at fault for the accident and be cited or even carted to the slammer.
It seriously angers me when people think they are right, but really don't have a clue about how it really is.
So anyway, I get home and find that I forgot the tator tots. What a day!

What else?

About two weeks ago, we got a call from our rental management company, letting us know that there was a couple that wanted to rent our house. That is great news for us. We were ecstatic!!
So we were expecting them to move in on Tuesday. We double checked with the management company and they verified. So Tuesday, the big day, we drive by because we are curious who is going to live in our house.
We drive by and notice, there were no moving vans, no cars, no people, no nothing. Okay,we thought maybe there was a mix up or some kinda problem and they would move in Wednesday. So I recontact the management company and make sure everything is okay. I then receive an email stating that Tuesday (move in day) the renters came in and said the house was too small and they wouldn't be renting the house after all. What?
They had put down a deposit, made a date on calendar-everything. I don't get it. I mean, they are getting charged $400 for the time the house was off the market and so forth, but seriously. Maybe I am too cheap to do something like this, maybe I am too thorough to not be completely sure I wanted to live in a house that I had to put a $1300 deposit on.
I guess you could say I am pissed off, I am depressed and I am disappointed by mankind. I have come to the conclusion that every time I get my hopes up, for anything, I get kicked in the balls! Not really, but the figure of speech works for this.
I trust that God has bigger and better things in store and I just have to hand over my control issues to him. Please pray with me.

Mixed Emotions

So, I am feeling a little nervous. I have made a decision in my life, which I feel is a big one.
Leaving law enforcement was a huge choice for me. I wasn't necessarily ready, but it was the best for my family. Since I wasn't really ready to quit, I sometimes feel like I shouldn't let it go so easy. Take a break from it, yes. Leave it entirely, no. I think to myself, "Self, you could do an investigator type job, Monday thru Friday, still be in the field, but not on the beat". Then I think, I put up with so much crap when I was a cop and I don't really want to continue all that drama and stress. Police Academy was fun for me, being the "social coordinator", hanging out and enjoying that time in my life. It was a lot of work also, running miles and miles and push ups and sit ups. But I like that stuff, now, not so much, but back then I thrived on it.
Now I am wanting to change careers completely and go into cosmetology. Yes, become a hairstylist. I have always been girly, loved clothes and make up. I love doing hair and making people feel good about themselves. Yes, I would encourage everyone to cut their hair a little shorter and not be "cookie cutter", but I can accept that not everyone wants short funky hair-like me. I can take critism, which I think is necessary, but I can also encourage people to be a little different. I want to be able to help others express themselves in a little different type of way.
A funny story. I went to a birthday party about a year ago and was at a bar. A guy came up to me and said, "Let, me guess, your a hairstylist". After wanting to punch him in the face, I thought to myself, what a compliment. Hairstylists, for the most part, are put together and have great hair and style!! Now, when people ask me (and that has been happening a lot lately), I feel good like I am making the right decision.
I would have started this process as soon as possible, but the school is expensive and we aren't financially ready for that. Paul Mitchell is about $20, 000 for a year. That is as much as a car!! My Aunt told me a couples weeks ago, "Do it, invest in yourself". She went on to explain that if David and I were to get a new car, we wouldn't have a problem spending that money, but we don't spend the money on ourselves, which is an investment. She has a point.
You ask, why am I nervous about this now. Well, I am touring the school Saturday. It's an open house and it is the "next step" for me. I know this may be a deal breaker and the more steps I take, the more or less likely this will happen.
So I figure that in about a year, or when Quinten starts kindergarden, I will go back to school and do it. Now it is a year long and it's full time. David may have to work some overtime, but I figure, look at the sacrifices I have made. He can make a few too!

A new review

Since food is such a serious part of my life, I am going to start a restaurant review when I go out to eat. My husband and I have both been in the restaurant business and are pretty huge critics. Our big thing is the service. Without good service you don't really have anything.

So today we went to Joy Luck Chinese Restaurant next to Nordstrom Rack. Yes, this is curtousy of the Entertainment book again. This is the review.

We get to the establishment and a cute young girl seats us. We sit for, oh, about 15 minutes before anyone gets us water, or, a smile for that matter. I made a comment to David that if no one came to greet us or bring us some water we were walking out. About 15 seconds later our server came. It's hard to sit and wait when your hungry, but when there are two, wild little boys with you, it's a life sentence.

So we order family style meals and an order of broccoli beef for the boys. It comes rather quick and we start on our meals. It was really good food! I loved the noodles, they were crispy and full of flavor. The rice was perfectly cooked. The broccoli beef was made with really good meat and it was delicious. The only thing I got that I wouldn't order again is the sweet and sour pork. I am not a pork eater, but there were mysterious things underneath that sauce that I couldn't recognize. No thanks to that. The meal was reasonably priced and I would definitely go again.

After we left the restaurant, we hit Dollar tree at Champlain and Shepard and I noticed a couple other places that I want to try. Crepe something and Latin Fusion. I will give details at a later time.

Bad night, tiring morning

It is strange how my body reacts to the craziness of stress. First off, I am the biggest stress case, ever. Most people would rate their "stress average" at, what, a 2? Mine is consistently about an 8. That is even when there is nothing unusual going on. Do I like to stress? Not really. My Mom is kinda the same way so I would like to say it's hereditary, but I'm adopted so that doesn't really work. Mine must be learned behavior.
So I am stressed out, wanna know why? Because my dumb ass shorted the bank $2.68 for my car payment. So the bank sent me a letter, which I just received and called yesterday. So I ran to the bank to deposit this months car payment money along with that huge $2.68. So I go to the ATM and start the process and the ATM machine keeps my card and cancels my transaction. Hello, it is freaking $2.68!!! Seriously people. If I was going to short that bank, I would at least make it worth my time. So now, I am stressed and pissed and have to drive home. I did that rather quickly because my heart rate was about double the speed.
I get home, brief David real quick and finish off half a chocolate cake and 4 cups of coffee to calm down! I know what your thinking-believe me. I was up until midnight winding down, mind racing about everything I have ever done wrong and why I have screwed my entire life up.
So this morning I have to take Gavin to school at 8:15 because it's a field trip tp Cobb's Ranch, thinking about this problem the whole time. I get home, call the lady and she doesn't answer. I call again a few minutes later, still no answer.
So I am sitting here, without an ATM card and an outstnading $2.68 balance, that apparently they won't let me forget about! I am having a bad day. I guess I shoud start on the other half of chocolate cake.

Making Friends

So when I moved to Fresno, since it has been so long since I lived here, I found all my friends had moved away or we had lost touch. Meaning, I had to start from scratch. I am not really one of those people who goes out of her way to be nice and friendly. I feel I am too old for being fake and would rather let people see me for who I really am. I am loud, sometimes abrasive (thanks to my previous career) and a little wild (my husband doesn't appreciate that very much). I like to laugh and tell funny stories, but I have come to the realization that people either love or hate me, there is no happy medium.
So since I have lived here I have been happy with myself, that I have opened up and made some friends. Now we aren't on the level of calling up and going shopping or catching a movie, but we get together through church functions and socialize and more importantly, I enjoy myself. I am thankful that God has helped me with my faults so that this transition hasn't been so tragic on my stress-loving self. I am thankful that David has made a couple good friends at work that are also Christians and have morals (surprising for the wonderful world of law enforcement).
So to all of you that have made this an enjoyable experience thank you. And to Audrey, who will always be my favorite, I miss you and I am going to make an extra effort to see you because I know I can always trust and confide in you.
Happy blogging. Feel free to leave comments-it keeps me going!

Anniversary!

Okay, we all know that anniversaries are important. In this day and age, getting through a year is a big accomplishment. There are so many divorces that staying together shows that both people are committed to each other and the marriage vows we all take. So yesterday, we made it seven years. It makes me happy, but trust me I wasn't happy yesterday morning.

We woke up and I thought that my husband would be extra nice to me and get up with the kids and get donuts or something else that is fattening and yummy. No such luck. I got up with the kids while he stayed in bed for another hour! Whatever. I gave him the benefit of the doubt. But it didn't get any better. While I cleaned up breakfast and started cleaning the house, he got on my laptop and started looking at stuff online. Hello!! Where is the love here?

So he got showered and took Gavin to school at 11:15. I am thinking that he will take Quinten to do some shopping. No, he comes right home. What? No card, no nothing.

I cleaned the entire house people, with no help. He went into the garage and brought me more boxes to unpack. Nice "love" day.

It was 2pm before I got showered, which I am not complaining about because I love being in my jammies, but sweaty, I-just-cleaned-the-entire house jammies? Not so much. Finally I told him I was gonna go get my nails painted to get out of the house. I was outta there and he picked up Gavin at 3:15.

After getting my nails painted (because I am too cheap to get them filled), I went to Ross. When I came home, the boys were all gone. I was optomistic then. Maybe he was thinking about his wife.

They came home about 4:30 and the boys each brought me a card. That was cute. Then David hands me a present. Wanna know what it was? A freaking garden hose. Yes people a garden hose. I thought to myself, "How many time does he expect me to wash the cars with the hose?" That was a crappy present.

Well, that was a joke. He took me out to the truck and in the back was a TV for the bedroom. It was alittle more then I expected, but hey, this is payback for all the times I have got him bomb presents and he has got me utensils for the kitchen. So that made my day. I haven't had TV in the bedroom since we moved and that used to be my relaxation time after the boys were in bed.

Then my Dad came over to watch the boys while we went to dinner. We went to Samba (they are having a $19.99 special now, by the way) and it was so good!! I haven't had a meal like that in a long time. David actually left full. You coulda rolled me outta that place. I am so happy I wore a loose sundress because I looked about 5 months pregnant! I can't say enough good things about that place.

So we got home about 8:30 and went to bed. It was a good day. Well, it was a good half day. My husband really came through. For all of you guys who don't really know me, my husband isn't the romantic person that showers me with love letters and poetry. If I get anything, that's huge! I love my husband, but when we walked down the isle, the nice little things stopped. Oh well. I still love him and look forward to the rest of my life with him.

huh?

So I was thinking today to what I wanted to write about. Did I want to conquer politics, drugs and gangs or religion-nah. Let's talk about something serious-shopping.

I have had kind of a problem with this subject since I was in college and worked at Weinstocks. It isn't around anymore, it was bought out by Macy's in 1996. I worked there for about 3 1/2 years and loved it.

Let's go back alittle though. In high school, I may not have been the popular girl, but I wore good clothes! I wore Benetton, Z. Cavaricchi (that's funny to think about these days) and Guess. My Mom had a great way to ration me. She gave me a "clothing allowance", which was money I was given every month to buy clothes with. I could save the money up and buy something big, or spend the allotted amount monthly. I would save up a couple months up and go crazy and hit the sale racks. Now, my Mom is quite a shopper herself, but she goes to the stores that I can't shop at. The kind where the sales clerks look at you crazy if you are too young, driving the wrong car or not carrying a Louis Vuitton bag (the real kind, not the Overstock special). So anyway, this gave me a good foundation, to what later would become a problem.

So I was a sales clerk as Weinstocks, the only problem, is my entire paycheck stayed at the store. I might add that they were nice enough to give me my very first credit card. I never got into any trouble with it though so that was a good thing. I was scared of my Dad and what he would do if he found that I hadn't paid that sucker off every month.

Later, after Weinstocks went out of business and I was working at Applebee's, I started shopping at Marshalls and Ross. I have always been a brand name shopper. And, the brand name needed to be visible. Now, don't act like you don't know what I am talking about. You know, the T-shirt that says "Abercrombie" or the red tag on the back of your "Lucky Jeans". Marshalls and Ross had name brand clothes that were marked down and I am one of those that searches. My shopping trips are not quick my friends. They are in depth because I am looking for the deals!

Then when my body started to move out of the "Jr" sizes, I moved to Express. I loved that place. I wore my ugly, manly, polyester uniform every day for 5 years, but on my weekends, I wouldn't wear the same thing twice. And trust me, I looked like a girl. I can't tell you how many times people would refer to me as "sir" at work, so I made myself extra girly as to not be confused off duty.

After I got knocked up and gained my weight, I faltered and hung out with the Old Navy crowd for awhile, but I lost some of it and regained alittle confidence. I started back into Banana Republic and Macy's.

That's when I really started into the shoes and you gotta love Macy's shoes. That is a whole other blog. Now, they are expensive, but you gotta hit up the clerance with additional off. That is an outting all by itself. Does the comfort level matter-no. You have to suck it up to get anywhere in life, right. This is one of the things you have to sacrifice.

So I am kinda getting into purses now. I really want a Coach purse, but the price tags on those things is even alittle more then I can handle. Time to make a trip to Gilroy I think-they have an outlet there. I will have to give you updates on my venture in that department. It's new territory, which makes it exciting.

So, shopping is a very important part of my life. I do it when I am happy. sad, bored and irritated. I like to go by myself, with friends and my kids too. I like to do it with coffee, with Sonic or without anything. I like big bags, small bags and boxes. I love everything about shopping. So if you need someone to go with you, I'm honest and have an enthusiasm that you won't find in anyone else.

What is really embarassing!

So I had an exciting day today. My best friend Audrey came to visit me and hang out for the day. So we enjoyed the day by sitting in the living room, watching food network and visiting.
After David went to work and Gavin was picked up from kindergarten, we started to figure out where we wanted to go eat. We decided to go to Roe, the sushi bar/real bar. That sounded fun, although I wasn't sure whether the food itself was any good. I heard it's an awesome place to drink and dance though.
That didn't matter, we went anyway. So we go inside and the kids were in heaven. There were chains hanging from the ceiling and everything was white accented with mother of pearl and black. The ambiance was really was nice and relaxing.
So we sit down and have a wonderful dinner, it was expensive, but such is life. After dinner, it was necessary that we go walk around the strip mall. We walked around and looked in the windows to see what was going on there. While the adults were on their best behavior, the kids were another story. They ran so far ahead of us, we felt like we were yelling at them every two minutes. It was getting really frustrating, but it was also getting out the "wigglies".

So we walk around the entire place and start back around to our cars. As we walked, Quinten and Grace run and run-so far infact, that they couldn't hear us yell at them anymore. As we yelled for them to stop, Audrey says, "How embaressing", referring to us yelling like we were walking in the local Wal-Mart. I started to run after them because I could see they were coming up on a driveway and wasn't sure if they would stop. I turned back and yelled, "No, this is emabrressing".

Let me paint this picture for you. I am wearing an above the knee sun dress with mary janes. As I am running, I can feel my loose belly skin bouncing over the top of my underwear and my dress slowly hicking up to show the world my cottage cheese. There was more shake there then I could ever descibe to you. It was nasty, belive me. All those resturants that I ran past probably lost business after that. So I caught up to the kids and yelled at mine, Audrey did the same. Quinten was on locked down and have to hold my hand for the rest of the time.

So as I sit here thinking about the day, I smile because I got to hang with one of my favorite people and enjoy her company while our kids played. I hope for many more days like these!

Shortcuts

So anyone that knows me, knows I like to save some money, especially these days. So I did what I said I would never do again. I colored my own hair.
Now I have done this before. The last time I did it, my hair turned a freakish, reddish blonde color and I rushed to my hairdresser and she had to weave in some dark highlights. After all that, two weeks later I colored my hair a dark red-brown color that I actually really liked. I soon after went back to the good old weaved blonde from the hairdresser and haven't fluctuated since.
But today it was different. As I cruised Wal-Mart (I hate Wal-Mart) I was thinking about that good reddish-brown color that was kinda funky, but then thought, "What fun is that?". I would much rather be blonde. Blondes have more fun, right?
So I went with the full bleached out color blonde that I was for sure would work for me. I was so excited that I asked David to help me color it before work. He laughed at me. So after mowing the lawn, I put the boys in the bathtub and started the process. I followed the directions and hoped for the best.
Wouldn't you know it, it turned a freakish reddish-blonde. HELLO!! Like I couldn't have seen that happening, right? So I had some left over. I dried my hair and re-did it. I swear my scalp has blisters on it and did the color change, no. I am mad at myself for doing this to begin with and more mad that I didn't just go dark.
So I guess I will wait the suggested 2 weeks and re-do something so I don't look like the freaky cheap women that wouldn't pay afew extra dollars to get he hair done at the salon. Anyway, if I ever intend to be a hairdresser, which is the goal here, I need to experiment a little and what better to experiment on-my own hair. That way the only person I can blame is M-E! So when you see me, don't laugh, just smile and be encouraging. Thanks!